Donna Gay Borden Anderson was named director of Southeastern’s Fanfare festival in December of 1999 and immediately began coordinating the upcoming season of the month long celebration. Soon after, she was also named Director of Southeastern’s Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts, the university’s newly restored 1928 theatre. Anderson is a 1981 graduate of Southeastern.

In addition to her bachelor’s degree, she earned her teacher certification in Education in 1997. Anderson also holds a professional degree from the National Shakespeare Conservatory. From 1984 until 1988 she pursued a career as a professional actor in New York City before joining the Gilla Roos Talent Agency, Ltd. as director of its Children and Teens Division.

Upon returning to Hammond in 1992, Anderson joined the faculty of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic High School where she chaired the fine arts department until May of 1998. In addition to a full teaching load, she annually directed two full-scale theatrical productions. During the summers of 1996 and 1997, Anderson coordinated the Hammond Regional Arts Center’s Summer Arts Camps.

Anderson is a member of the Advisory Board for the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and the Board of Directors for Friends of Louisiana Public Broadcasting. She is a member of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters and The League of Historic American Theatres.

Pete Pfeil has been at Southeastern University for 14 years, where he was the technical director for university theaters before transferring to Columbia Theatre in 2001. He began his professional career in 1978 as resident lighting designer for the Beverly Dinner Playhouse in New Orleans and then was production manager for Tulane University-Newcomb Music Department and Summer Lyric Theatre.

This summer he will celebrate his 26th year as a guest lighting designer for Summer Lyric. He has also served as production manager for the New Orleans Symphony and theatre manager for the Orpheum Theatre in New Orleans. 

Carol Knott has been with the Columbia Theatre since 2003. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration/Accounting from Mississippi College in December 1999. She has worked in business and/or accounting in various environments for the past 15 years.

Knott began her career in business in 1984 working with Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. in Jackson, Miss. She later worked with Mississippi Valley Gas and served as vice-chair of the Community Involvement Team and co-coordinator of the Adopt a School Program. She and her husband own a business in Hammond, which they started together in 2000. Knott is a current member of the Institute of Certified Management Accountants. 

Since 2002, Joey Drago has applied his many talents to Southeastern’s Fanfare and Columbia Theatre. A Hammond native, his 20 years of experience in the music field have served him well. During those two decades he has worked as a performer, engineer, producer and stage craftsman.

His live rock-n-roll legends impersonation group, “Sho-Tyme,” toured nationally for several years. During that time he worked with such artists as the Everly Brothers, Charlie Pride, Jimmy Buffet, Ray Charles, the Smitherines, Leon Russell and Steven Seagal. 

Christie Gardiner became a part of the Columbia Theatre team in May 2006, after spending more than eight years at WDSU News Channel 6 in New Orleans. Quickly working her way up from Paid Intern to Television News Producer, Christie covered numerous major events including the War on Terror and Hurricane Katrina. The storm was a unique experience, forcing her on the road for weeks to produce live and pivotal broadcasts from sister television stations in Jackson, Mississippi and Orlando, Florida.

From the fast-paced world of television news to the creative world of performing arts, Christie now concentrates on executing artist contracts, organizing hospitality requirements for performers, organizing education outreach events and coordinating house management. She is happy and proud to be a part of Southeastern Louisiana University once again, after graduating in 1997 with a Bachelor’s degree in Communication.

Bettina Stansbury is our newest staff member, joining Columbia in October of 2008. She came to Columbia from retailer Payless Shoe Source, where she worked in the finance department as a Loss Prevention Auditor for 24 years. She studied Instrumental Music Education at University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and it was her love of music and theatre that brought her here to Columbia. Bettina resides in Ponchatoula with her husband and 2 children.